Falcons Coach Dave Ragone Reveals How He Met Desmond Ridder

Dave Ragone met a young Desmond Ridder long before both of them joined the Atlanta Falcons.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 9, 2023

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Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are officially ushering in the Desmond Ridder era, as he takes the field for the first time as the Week 1 starting quarterback for the franchise against the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers.

Ridder has plenty of support with him on the field, but also off of it, with coach Arthur Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone helping him on the sidelines.

For Ragone, Ridder's start with him by his side is a part of a journey that started even before the Falcons quarterback was in college.

“That story goes back to a guy that I was close to at the time, which was his high school head coach," Ragone said. "This person had played in the NFL for a long period of time – a very good player. Been around some really good players, and he just in a roundabout way not knowing that our worlds would ever collide – in a roundabout way, would always make a case in point of ‘Man I think I’ve got something here in high school and it’ll be interesting to see where his career turns out.’ As fate has it, we end up in the same spot, not by design but ultimately, after all those years ago.”

Ragone, 43, went to college at Louisville, and spent five seasons in the NFL. Ridder went to high school in Louisville, while Ragone stayed connected to the area.

Ridder, now 24, has come a long way since his high school days, but the way his path has coincided with Ragone is a testament to how intertwined the football community can be.

Ridder, Ragone and the Falcons kick off the season against the Panthers at 1 p.m. on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Published Sep 9, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.